H.R. 9497 — Water Resources Development Act of 2026

This section establishes the Office of Inland Navigation Construction Management and the Office of Water Supply, Water Conservation, and Drought Resiliency within the Directorate of Civil Works of the Corps of Engineers. It designates a program manager for each office who reports directly to the Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations. The first office oversees inland waterway construction and major rehabilitation projects, manages funding from the Inland Waterway Trust Fund, and updates the capital investment strategy. The second office identifies opportunities to promote water supply and drought resiliency, recommends policy changes, assists states and nonfederal interests, and coordinates reallocation studies. It requires a public report on the first office within 2 years.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Corps of Engineers should maximize efficiency by using multiyear or continuing contracts, which provide cost savings across accounts and increase project reliability. It requires the Comptroller General to review existing statutory authorities and limitations, prior Corps and other federal agency uses of such contracts, potential cost savings and accelerated completion benefits, and safeguards against inefficient reprogramming, and to submit findings and legislative recommendations to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within one year.

This section shields the Secretary from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 for releases of hazardous substances or pollutants during removal or remediation of contaminated sediment, when the activity follows a joint plan developed with the non-Federal interest and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. The plan must incorporate National Contingency Plan requirements, specify disposal methods and funding sources, and protect human health and the environment. The Secretary must document contaminants and identify potentially responsible parties before beginning work, after consulting officials and allowing public comment.

This section establishes a Levee Owners Board composed of eleven Federal levee system owner-operators appointed by the Secretary to represent various regions, including at least one from each of the eight Corps of Engineers divisions. The board meets semiannually to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary and Congress on levee system reliability, budget priorities, flood risk management project feasibility reports, and the effectiveness of the Corps of Engineers levee safety program and levee safety initiative.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to establish, by rule, categorical permissions for categories of activities affecting U.S.-built public works such as levees, dikes, and jetties under 33 U.S.C. 408. The permissions apply only to activities similar to those regularly authorized that cause minimal adverse environmental effects when carried out separately or cumulatively, and the Secretary must publish a proposed rule within 180 days of enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, solicit public input, ensure transparency on an agency website, and incorporate the permissions into the application review process.

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Army to accept and use funds from non-Federal interests for an authorized water resources development project that the Chief of Engineers determines has exceeded, or is expected to exceed, its maximum cost limit. The funds must be provided under a written agreement and may not increase the Federal share of the project’s total cost.

This section expands the Corps of Engineers electronic permit system to enable preparation, submission, and tracking of documents related to Federal environmental reviews for projects under Corps jurisdiction or for which the Corps is lead agency. It requires the system to support interagency coordination on those documents, allows non-Federal interests to submit related information and track review status, makes final review documents publicly available, shortens the implementation deadline to one year after enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (from two years after the Water Resources Development Act of 2022), and directs consistency with the E-NEPA permitting portal study.

This section requires the Secretary of the Army to complete Corps of Engineers feasibility studies for water resources development projects as efficiently as practicable, align study scope with non-Federal interests, conduct concurrent district-division-headquarters reviews, and include sufficient information for congressional review. It directs District Engineers to establish milestones and total cost estimates in collaboration with non-Federal interests, considering project complexity factors such as type, size, location, innovative techniques, interagency actions, and public disputes, and to grant extensions upon request. It requires annual reports to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and public posting, on all schedules, expected delays beyond 4 years after Federal interest determination, costs exceeding $5,000,000, and missed deadlines or extensions. It applies these rules to studies initiated on or after enactment and, upon non-Federal request, to ongoing studies without a final Chief’s report. It requires written notice to the same committees on any terminated or proposed terminated study, including reasons and alternatives for the non-Federal interest.

This section establishes a program for the Secretary of the Army to conduct studies and carry out projects modifying covered flood risk management projects to improve flood risk management or meet federal standards. Studies receive a 50 percent federal share (first $100,000 at full federal expense); construction receives a 25 percent federal share; total federal spending per study or project is capped at $15 million; and $50 million is authorized annually. It also requires application of the maximum per-project federal expenditure limit for each continuing authority program as in effect the day after enactment.

This section requires the Secretary to ensure that dredged material management plans for authorized water resources development projects provide at least 10 years of placement capacity. It creates an exception when the Secretary determines that meeting the 10-year requirement is not feasible due to complexity, controversy, or other compelling factors.

This section requires the Secretary to consult with non-Federal interests, relevant Federal and State entities, and other project users when setting the scope and performance timeline for maintenance dredging contracts entered on or after the date of enactment, except in emergencies or matters of national interest. It also directs the Secretary to assess within 3 business days whether contractor-reported changes affect the performance period and notify the non-Federal interest if so, and to provide the Secretary’s annual funding capability estimate for the activity upon request.

This section directs the Secretary to update regulations establishing the Federal standard for dredged material disposal or placement to align with section 1130 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, section 125(a) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (including its economic benefits directive and 70 percent beneficial use goal by volume), and section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. It requires initiation of a rulemaking within 6 months of enactment while considering facility capacity, monetary and resiliency benefits of beneficial use, coastal restoration demand, and non-Federal incremental costs.

This section directs the Secretary to allocate all available Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund amounts for operations and maintenance of harbors and inland harbors, including expanded uses at eligible projects, without the prior qualifiers of “to the extent practicable” or “to the extent there are identifiable operations and maintenance needs.” It requires annual reports to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee listing expenditures by project category, specific projects and amounts, and any noncompliance with a corrective plan. The allocation amendments apply to funds made available after enactment.

This section requires the Corps of Engineers to pay nonsupervisory, leader, and supervisory wage employees at the navigation locks in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, who operate lock and dam equipment or repair and maintain related machinery from special wage schedules with rates identical to the regular wage schedule authorized for the Detroit District Office.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite review of requests by non-Federal interests to enter partnership agreements for the design, construction, or operation of facilities demonstrating beneficial uses of dredged material from federally authorized harbors in Ohio. It authorizes reimbursement of non-Federal funds through subsequent user fees and permits the Secretary to enter such agreements before completing a dredged material management plan when harbor capacity is inadequate.

This section requires the Secretary of the Army to update Corps of Engineers policy and guidance documents on minimum real estate interests for water resources development projects, including Chapter 12 of Engineering Regulation 405–1–12, within 180 days of enactment to align with 33 U.S.C. 598b, and to publish the changes on a publicly available website. It also requires delegation of approval authority for such minimum interests to the applicable District Commander to the maximum extent practicable.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to complete a review of Corps of Engineers policies and guidance on real estate appraisals for civil works projects within 210 days of enactment and issue revisions to improve efficiency and avoid delays in feasibility studies. It requires guidelines for determining appraisal validity from the date of receipt until certification of the total project cost estimate expires, standard review timeframes, and discretionary delegations of approval authority, and mandates a report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within 30 days of the review.

This section expands assessments of water resources needs to include projected water supply needs for municipal, domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes. It adds nine river basins and watersheds to the priority list for assessments, including the Eightmile River Watershed in Connecticut, the Pensacola Bay System Watershed in Florida, the Middle Rio Grande Watershed in New Mexico, the Upper Ohio River Basin, the Rio Grande Basin in Texas, and the Great Salt Lake Basin.

This section prohibits diversion or export of water from the Missouri River or its tributaries for use outside the Missouri River States unless approved by the governor of each of those states. It bars the Secretary from conducting or funding feasibility studies on such diversions without unanimous gubernatorial approval, and exempts diversions authorized before January 1, 2025, related to federal reserved water rights.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that Corps of Engineers emergency debris removal contracts should facilitate effective removal of disaster-generated debris while maximizing taxpayer value and minimizing harm to property, habitats, and wildlife. It directs the Secretary to evaluate contract and fee structures and their effects on cost and quality, terms requiring pre-removal coordination with Federal, State, and local agencies to protect healthy vegetation and vulnerable wildlife, and other measures to safeguard private property and natural systems.

This section directs the Secretary to develop wildfire contingency strategies for water resources development projects at the request of non-Federal interests. Each strategy must include a risk assessment covering threats to authorized project purposes and nearby life and property plus post-fire sediment and debris risks, and a mitigation plan addressing hazardous fuels management, fuel breaks, invasive species treatments, ecosystem restoration, and operational changes such as water control manual updates. The Secretary must consult with Federal agencies, States, Tribes, and local governments; prioritize high-risk areas; and report implementation status to Congress within 18 months.

This section establishes a 10-year pilot program under which the Secretary of the Army may accept state-provided services to remove sediment behind federal dams to restore authorized storage capacity. Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary must review services for consistency with project purposes, require pre- and post-service sediment surveys, secure indemnification or an approved agreement for any adverse impacts, enter written agreements granting non-federal interests operation and maintenance credits for qualifying services, notify the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Environment and Public Works Committees before accepting services, and prioritize projects at John Redmond Reservoir, Kanopolis Lake, Tuttle Creek Lake, and Sardis Lake.

This section adds the navigation project for Ipswich River, Massachusetts, authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1968, to the list of projects eligible for environmental dredging under the Water Resources Development Act of 2022.

This section permits funds for the program preventing, controlling, and eradicating noxious aquatic plant growths and aquatic invasive species in U.S. navigable waters to cover reasonable and necessary indirect costs, including administrative expenses, overhead, and other costs not directly attributable to a specific project.

This section expands the harmful algal bloom demonstration program under section 128 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 to include Putnam Lake, New York; Ross Island Lagoon, Oregon; lakes and reservoirs in Pennsylvania, including Blue Marsh Lake; and the Rio Grande River Basin, Texas. It requires the Secretary of the Army to submit annual status updates on the program to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

This section expands eligibility for studies and projects to reduce flood, hurricane, and storm damage or restore natural river and shoreline functions by adding four new locations: the shoreline of Puerto Rico, the Blackstone River in Rhode Island, the Rio Grande bordering counties in Texas, and the Passumpsic River watershed in Vermont.

This section expands authorized fish and oyster habitat restoration projects to include the East River, Flushing Bay and River, and Bronx River in New York—specifically oyster bar and reef construction, marginal habitat rehabilitation, alternative substrate use, hatchery construction and upgrades, broodstock output increases, and site monitoring—and habitat restoration in Choctawhatchee Bay and off the coast of Okaloosa County, Florida.

This section directs the Secretary to treat benefits from natural or nature-based features in authorized water resources development projects as at least equal to the costs of such measures. It limits the authority to 10 projects, including the New York and New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries project and a New Jersey coastal storm risk management project, requires a public report on the evaluations within 4 years, and terminates the authority after 5 years.

This section establishes a policy directing the Corps of Engineers to fully utilize its programmatic, technical, planning assistance, and project-specific authorities across nine mission areas: navigation; flood risk management and coastal storm risk management; environmental and ecosystem restoration; municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supply, conservation, and drought resiliency; recreation; hydropower; aquatic plant and species control; emergency response; and research and development. It requires the Secretary to give full consideration to aligned proposals from non-Federal interests.

This section expands federal flood control policy to cover other water bodies and shorelines and to recognize flooding from riverine discharges, extreme weather, coastal and tidal flooding, sea level rise, subsidence, and stormwater. It requires the Corps of Engineers to give equal consideration to structural and nonstructural features in every flood risk management or hurricane and storm damage reduction feasibility study and to treat qualifying nonstructural features as part of its primary mission. It directs the Secretary to incorporate feasible comprehensive flood risk reduction alternatives proposed by non-federal interests into recommended plans with shared construction costs and broadens study scope to include stormwater flooding at rates below 800 cubic feet per second for the 10-percent flood.

This section requires the Secretary of the Army to transfer Atchison and Holt Counties, Missouri, to the Kansas City District; Northeast Missouri from the Rock Island District to the St. Louis District; nine specified counties in Arkansas to the Memphis District; and Desha and Lincoln Counties, Arkansas, to the Vicksburg District, all within 90 days of enactment. It also bars any other modification of Corps of Engineers district boundaries without 30 days’ advance notification to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, after consultation with affected stakeholders and inclusion of a justification plus analysis of effects on mission execution, finances, workforce, and stakeholders.

This section directs the Secretary to issue new Corps of Engineers policy or guidance and revise existing documents within 120 days after enactment to implement the Act and its amendments. It revokes any non-compliant policy or guidance documents after that date.

This section requires the Corps of Engineers to maintain open communications with each Member of Congress office and, upon request, directs the Secretary and Chief of Engineers to provide expeditiously information or technical assistance on water resources development projects, including feasibility studies, Chief’s Reports, project justification and scope, authorization and implementation status, estimated costs and schedules, and operational capabilities. It defines Member of Congress to include Delegates and Resident Commissioners.

This section modifies fish and wildlife mitigation procedures for Corps of Engineers water resources projects. It bars project approval unless the Secretary prepares a report containing the required mitigation plan, requires consultation with non-Federal interests and stakeholders to adopt regional mitigation practices and identify other projects or concepts to meet mitigation needs, and permits use of third-party mitigation instruments. It authorizes mitigation banks and in-lieu fee programs for immediate or future credit delivery identified in the instrument. It treats mitigation credits as separable project elements without further evaluation, requires public posting of each project’s mitigation requirements (including location, schedule, type, amount, and remaining needs) on the Corps website with regular updates at project expense, and directs coordination between project delivery and regulatory teams.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should review and update the minimum real estate interest for each completed Corps of Engineers flood risk management project based on approved as-built drawings to maintain project benefits, comply with the Flood Control Act manual, and obtain required section 408 permissions. It further recommends that the Secretary provide review summaries to non-Federal interests and develop a streamlined process for updating project boundaries upon request.

This section directs the Secretary to maintain equivalent recreational access to affected public amenities such as parks, trails, green spaces, and recreational waterways during construction of water resources development projects, including through alternative access where needed. It also requires the Secretary, as part of feasibility studies, to review potential impacts on facilities for hiking, biking, walking, and waterborne recreation and to include plans to minimize disruptions in final project recommendations.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should collaborate with the Secretary of Defense to identify the agency responsible for remediation of explosive ordnance and unexploded ordnance disposal under the authority provided in section 1027 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for a comprehensive review of Corps of Engineers workforce needs. The review must evaluate staffing levels for missions including navigation, flood risk reduction, and regulatory reviews; recruitment, retention, and training challenges; effects of public-private partnerships; and technology use, with recommendations to improve capacity. The Secretary must submit the findings and a detailed response to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within 180 days.

This section requires the Secretary to submit a report within 90 days to the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Environment and Public Works and Appropriations on the status, funding needs, resources, and timelines for completing 10 specified reports required under the Water Resources Development Acts of 2022 and 2024. It also directs the Secretary to issue guidance within 45 days on five provisions from prior Water Resources Development Acts concerning cost sharing, real estate fees, and project benefit-cost analyses.

This section expands the list of projects and studies eligible for ability-to-pay cost-sharing determinations to include studies and adds seven new items: the Big Island Local Flood Protection Project in Illinois; the Columbus and Hickman flood risk management feasibility study in Kentucky; the Hickman Bluff Stabilization project in Kentucky; the Lower Osage River Basin ecosystem restoration study in Missouri; the Lower Blackstone River ecosystem restoration project in Rhode Island; the Aquilla Lake water supply storage reallocation study in Texas; and the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management study in Virginia.

This section adds three projects to the prioritization list for the pilot program under section 118 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020: the Big Island Local Flood Protection Project in Illinois for flood risk management; the feasibility study for flood risk management, riverbank stabilization, and bluff stabilization in Columbus and Hickman, Kentucky; and the shoreline and riverine protection and restoration project in the Passumpsic River watershed in Vermont.

This section specifies that the Commandant of the Coast Guard exercises authority under section 4711 of title 46, United States Code, when making determinations related to the removal or abandonment of vessels obstructing navigable waters in two provisions governing owner liability for such removals.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Army should, to the maximum extent practicable, meet the expedited construction schedule in the July 18, 2025 Memorandum of Agreement with Florida for the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, incorporate other Central Everglades Planning Project components to restore flows through the central Everglades and Everglades National Park to Florida Bay, and pursue expedited timelines for remaining Everglades projects to eliminate harmful transfers to the St. Lucie Estuary and reduce them to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary and Lake Worth Lagoon. It states that the provision does not alter authorized project purposes or expand Federal authority over State waters.

This section authorizes the Secretary to conduct feasibility studies for 38 water resources development projects, including ecosystem restoration, flood risk management, coastal storm risk management, navigation, and water supply in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, and Louisiana.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite feasibility studies or general reevaluation reports for 27 specified water resources development projects in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, and Florida. If a project is determined justified, the Secretary may proceed directly to preconstruction planning, engineering, and design.

This section modifies four existing Army Corps of Engineers feasibility studies. It adds coastal storm risk management and shoreline erosion protection to the Unalaska (Dutch Harbor) Channels, Alaska navigation study; adds bluff stabilization as a purpose and includes the City of Hickman, Kentucky in the Columbus, Kentucky flood risk management study; adds Vermilion Bay to the Alexandria to the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana study; and adds streambank erosion and shoreline protection as purposes and includes the East Point Lighthouse in the Maurice River, New Jersey navigation and beneficial use study. The section also directs the Secretary to expedite completion of the four studies and, if a project is justified, to proceed directly to preconstruction planning, engineering, and design.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite review and coordination of feasibility studies under section 203(b) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 for four projects: the Cedar Port Navigation and Improvement District Channel Deepening Project in Baytown, Texas; the Raymondville Drain Project for flood control in the Lower Rio Grande Basin, Texas; the Sabine-Neches Waterway Navigation Improvement Project in Texas; and the Central and Southern Florida Resiliency Study—Broward Basins for flood risk management in the Southern Florida Water Management District.

This section requires the Secretary of the Army to submit reports to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The reports cover (1) use of procedures under 33 CFR part 234 in ongoing feasibility studies for water resources development projects, due within one year and biennially for 10 years thereafter; (2) effects of new commercial and industrial water users on authorized water supply or conservation projects; (3) implementation of forecast-informed reservoir operations at Corps reservoirs, including barriers and recommendations; (4) authorities, barriers, and recommendations regarding floating cabins on waters under Corps jurisdiction; and (5) implementation of easement authorities for hurricane and storm damage reduction projects.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive study of the condition and reliability of water resources development projects on inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States. The study must assess the waterways’ capacity to meet commerce, navigation, emergency, defense, flood control, ecosystem, and recreation needs; evaluate structures such as locks, levees, and dams; identify projects that reduce dredging; determine funding requirements; and flag components whose failure would significantly impair waterway function. The Secretary must submit a report on the study to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 18 months of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary to assess, within one year of enactment, federally authorized emerging harbors that have experienced deferred maintenance, inadequate operations and maintenance funding, or recurring navigation deficiencies. For each harbor the assessment must identify authorized dimensions and current condition, extent of deferred maintenance and dredging needs, economic, safety, emergency response, commercial fishing, Tribal, and recreational impacts, reasons for lack of funding, recommendations for addressing backlogs, and interest of State, local, Tribal, and port authorities in assuming operation and maintenance responsibilities. It requires consultation with those entities and submission of a report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that includes a prioritized list of maintenance projects based on economic importance, public safety, commercial fishing, Tribal reliance, emergency access, and extent of deferred maintenance.

This section directs the Comptroller General to initiate four studies within one year (or 180 days for the final study) after enactment and submit reports to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on (1) cost-sharing efforts for recreation facilities at water resource development projects, including joint management agreements with non-Federal entities; (2) beach renourishment authorities, financial and regulatory barriers, and beneficial use of dredged material; (3) Corps of Engineers methods for procuring architectural and engineering design services from private firms versus in-house staff; and (4) incorporation of state fish and wildlife recommendations under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, and Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act.

This section directs the Engineer Inspector General of the Corps of Engineers to submit three reports within 2 years of enactment. The first assesses Corps policies, guidance, and practices for classifying park ranger functions as inherently governmental and any resulting risks to environmental management, public safety, or enforcement. The second evaluates implementation of Tribal policies and programs, including the Tribal Liaison position and alignment with requirements in the Water Resources Development Acts of 2000, 2020, 2022, and 2024. The third examines the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the weir at Wilson’s Slough in the Lower Pearl River Restoration project and identifies causes of its failure.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite completion of any modification, repair, or rehabilitation of an authorized inland navigation project that is subject to an emergency declaration, including a non-breach emergency. It requires acceleration of investigations, engineering and design, and construction to maintain navigation functionality and structural integrity.

This section requires the Secretary to submit the results of the corrective action plan developed in response to the April 28, 2025, GAO report titled “Army Corps of Engineers: Commercial Fishing Data Could Help Inform Budget Process” (GAO–25–107447) to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 90 days of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Director of the Engineer Research and Development Center, to conduct research and testing on natural infrastructure technologies for dryland streams in arid, semi-arid, and drought-prone areas, including human-made mimics such as rock check dams, beaver dam analogs, gabions, and weirs. It requires publication of utilization guidance for civil works projects within one year after completion and a public summary to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within two years of enactment. It also requires research and testing of shoreline stabilization, erosion control, and wave energy reduction technologies, including natural and nature-based features, in diverse coastal locations, with a similar public summary due within two years of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary to submit a report within 6 months of enactment to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the status of six specified flood risk management and hurricane and storm damage reduction projects in New Jersey and New York.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct post-disaster watershed assessments under existing authority for areas in Catron and Grant Counties, Valencia County, and near Ruidoso, New Mexico, impacted by the June 2025 and June 2024 wildfires. It requires a report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the status of the assessments within 18 months of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to update the plan and timeline for recapitalization of Federal hopper dredges owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers, as identified in the June 2017 Hopper Dredge Recapitalization Analysis, and to submit the updated plan to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 90 days of enactment.

This section expands the study area for improvements to flood control, water quality, water supply, drought management, and fish and wildlife enhancement in the Choctawhatchee and Pea River basins to include the entire basins and all hydrologically connected downstream receiving waters in Alabama and Florida. It directs the Secretary to develop a scope of work with a communications plan in collaboration with the non-Federal interest and coordinate with relevant State, local, Tribal, and Federal entities.

This section directs the Secretary to assess the long-term viability of existing dredged material placement areas for Mobile Harbor, including state-owned upland disposal facilities. It requires recommendations for beneficial use of the materials, including viability at Pinto Island and Blakeley Island in Mobile, Alabama.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite an After-Action Review of Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations conducted between December 2024 and June 2025. It requires submission of a report by December 31, 2026, to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works assessing the operations' rationale, effects on subaquatic vegetation, oyster populations, estuaries, authorized project purposes, water transfers, excess or shortage periods through December 2026, and the Corps of Engineers' capacity to repeat such operations over the following five years, while prohibiting any recommendations to expand federal authority over state waters or alter the goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program.

This section requires the Secretary to submit, within 30 days of enactment, an update on the status of the study to modify the navigation project at Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii—including the assessment of benefits for disaster resiliency and enhanced national security from Department of Defense utilization of the harbor—to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

This section directs the Secretary to assess the Calumet Harbor Dredged Material Disposal Facility, also known as the Chicago Area Confined Disposal Facility, within 90 days after enactment. The assessment must include a description of ongoing and future dredging of the Calumet River and Harbor, a plan to close the facility within 1 year after enactment through remediation, capping, seeding, and stabilization, a plan to convey the site to the Chicago Park District after closure, and coordination with State and local governments.

This section directs the Secretary to submit a report within one year of enactment to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The report must assess any contaminated sediments associated with the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study–Brandon Road ecosystem restoration project in Will County, Illinois, and include a remediation plan developed with the non-Federal interest to be implemented during project construction.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to submit a report within 180 days to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the Columbia Lock and Dam, Louisiana. The report must describe the structural concerns that prompted the August 2024 non-breach emergency declaration, summarize interim actions taken by the Corps of Engineers, recommend permanent remedial actions, evaluate whether those actions can be implemented in discrete phases, and provide an estimated schedule and cost range for completion.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite completion of the Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study authorized by section 213 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to conduct a disposition study for deauthorizing a portion of the Cape Cod Canal navigation project in Massachusetts that is not needed for authorized purposes and could be conveyed to the towns of Sandwich or Bourne for a new wastewater treatment plant. It requires a report on the study's status to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 18 months of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite completion of the assessment of confined aquatic disposal facilities in the New England District region required under the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 and to submit the results to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. It also authorizes a study on construction of such facilities in the Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay region for disposal of contaminated dredged material, plus any additional studies recommended in the assessment.

This section directs the Secretary to establish a shoreline management plan for the Big Sandy Lake project within 18 months of enactment. It authorizes the Secretary to issue shoreline use permits to owners of adjacent private land for activities involving existing or new structures on Corps-held project land. It requires the Secretary to complete a disposition study for the release, transfer, conveyance, or exchange of excess easements and land at the project, including appraisals, legal descriptions, acreage, and recommendations for any necessary restrictions to sustain authorized purposes, and to submit a report on the study to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 18 months.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive study, capped at $25 million with a 65 percent federal share, to identify core sedimentation issues in the Upper Missouri River Basin and develop recommendations for new or modified water resources projects, monitoring, management plans, and further research. It requires a report to Congress within 5 years and prohibits consideration of changes to the Missouri River Basin Mainstem Reservoir System Master Water Control Manual.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to conduct a disposition study under the Flood Control Act of 1970 for the release, transfer, conveyance, or exchange of excess easements and land at the Table Rock Lake project in Missouri and Arkansas. It requires the Secretary to give the relevant non-Federal interest right of first refusal on any such action and to collaborate with that interest on identifying land exchange opportunities, with a status report due to Congress within 18 months of enactment.

This section permits the ongoing presence of eligible structures and privately owned sewer or septic systems at the Table Rock Lake project until abandonment or imminent failure. Eligible structures must be located on fee land or flowage easement land above the 936-foot elevation contour as of the date of enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 and must not affect reservoir operations; eligible systems must meet the same location and impact criteria. The section also authorizes the Secretary to issue shoreline use permits or easements for new or modified structures after that date.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy and the People of Cochiti Pueblo, to initiate within 90 days an evaluation of lands adjacent to and including Cochiti Lake in Sandoval County, New Mexico, to determine eligibility for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program based on contamination from the early atomic energy program, including the Manhattan Engineering District. It requires notification to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within one year of the results, including findings on contamination, need for further remediation, and timeline if eligible.

This section requires the Secretary to submit updates on the status of implementing the National Academy of Sciences study on the Upper Rio Grande Basin to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works not later than 30 days after enactment and annually thereafter until the study report is completed.

This section authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study, in coordination with relevant Federal and State agencies and non-Federal interests, on water supply, water storage capacity, and drought resiliency for the Arbuckle-Timbered Hills Aquifer in Oklahoma, and requires identification of infrastructure needs to support increased water storage.

This section directs the Secretary to issue within 180 days of enactment the report required by section 8220 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, as modified to include a review of cost allocations for capital investments in fish passage and monitoring facilities constructed or proposed after September 30, 2025, and related operations at the Willamette Valley hydropower project, plus a comparison of the public value of continued hydropower operations relative to flood control and other authorized purposes.

This section directs the Secretary to conduct a disposition study for the release, transfer, conveyance, or exchange of excess easements or land at the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir and Dam in Pennsylvania. The study must identify minimum property needed for project operations, evaluate effects on flood control and recreation missions, and specify exact legal descriptions and acreage, with a status report due to Congress within 18 months.

This section directs the Secretary to coordinate with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to expedite watershed planning assistance to Humphreys County, Tennessee, under the agreement entered into on November 30, 2022.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly assess the condition of the Harvey Creek boat ramp at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in San Augustine County, Texas, upon request of the Secretary of Agriculture, and to provide technical and design assistance for any repairs determined necessary.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out two disposition studies under section 216 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 for Corps of Engineers lands along the Columbia River in Washington. One study examines conveyance of approximately 2,353 acres to the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, Benton and Franklin Counties, and the Port of Pasco for public purposes. The second examines transfer of approximately 360 acres plus any additional areas determined by the Secretary to the Secretary of the Interior to hold in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and other federally recognized tribes. The Secretary must consult with covered entities and tribes, include specified analyses of project effects, easements, infrastructure, and encumbrances in each study, and submit a status report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within 18 months of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite property conveyances to non-Federal entities in the Tri-Cities Area, Washington, authorized under section 501(i) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996. It requires notification to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 18 months of enactment if any conveyance remains incomplete, specifying the property, reasons for delay, and expected timeline.

This section adds a purpose to the deauthorization process for water resources development projects to address the backlog of projects the Secretary is authorized to construct. It updates references from the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 to the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, extending the cutoff for project initiation to January 4, 2027 (from January 4, 2025). It requires the Secretary to review and update the deauthorization list and appendix at least every six months and publish the updates in the Federal Register.

This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay oyster recovery program to $150,000,000 (from $120,000,000). The program funds projects to restore and rehabilitate fish habitat, including native oysters, in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in Virginia and Maryland.

This section authorizes conveyances of federal real property without consideration to four local governments for specified public uses. The conveyances cover approximately 48 acres at 2205 Railroad Street in Corona, California, to the City of Corona for water reclamation, wastewater treatment, or related municipal purposes; approximately 4.02 acres at 1259 Duck Road in Duck, North Carolina, to the Town of Duck for a fire station and public safety facility; Grassy Island in Maumee Bay, Ohio, to the City of Toledo for parks and recreation; and approximately 25 acres (Tax Lot 1301 and 12 acres of Tax Lot 1001) in Umatilla County, Oregon, to the County of Umatilla for public benefit. Recipients bear all conveyance costs and post-conveyance liability, with the property reverting if not used for the stated purpose.

This section directs the Secretary to release all U.S. easement interests, except channel maintenance, ingress and egress, and drainage trench easements, on approximately 79.60 acres in Bay and Walton Counties, Florida, in exchange for conveyance by The St. Joe Company of approximately 103.49 acres in Bay County, Florida. The St. Joe Company must pay the difference in appraised fair market values, cover all transaction and environmental costs, complete the exchange within 180 days of enactment, assume post-conveyance liability, and hold the United States harmless for prior liability.

This section directs the Secretary to review federal land known as USACOE TRACT 100 at the Canaveral Harbor navigation project on request from the Canaveral Port Authority, convey or exchange any portion no longer required at fair market value or equal value, and grant related easements that will not impair project operations. The Authority bears all transaction and environmental costs, receives the property by quitclaim deed, assumes liability for post-conveyance activities, and the conveyance is exempt from 10 U.S.C. 2696 screening requirements.

This section deauthorizes specified portions of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area flood control project in California, including 33 named flood channels such as Alhambra Wash, Ballona Creek, Compton Creek, Los Angeles River segments, Rio Hondo, San Gabriel River, and Tujunga Wash. It also deauthorizes the 3.76-mile Dos Rios Levee on the Lower San Joaquin River. For the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minnesota, it requires the Secretary of the Army to retain ownership and operation of the underwater cutoff wall and to complete a condition assessment within one year. It further deauthorizes a defined segment of the Harlem River navigation channel in New York.

This section finds that the described projects are consistent with the annual Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development under 33 U.S.C. 2282d and authorizes new environmental infrastructure projects under section 219(f) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, including $3,000,000 for Auburn, Alabama; $4,000,000 for Edwardsville, Alabama; $12,000,000 for Gadsden, Alabama; $40,000,000 for Lower Alabama counties; $10,000,000 for Mobile, Alabama; and additional amounts ranging from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 for water and wastewater infrastructure in 27 further locations in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, and California.

This section directs the Secretary to assess forecast-informed reservoir operations at New Hogan Dam and Lake on the Calaveras River and Shasta Dam and Lake on the Sacramento River in California as part of the assessment required under section 1162(c) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. It expands the forecast-informed reservoir operations program under the Water Resources Development Act of 2018 to include the Pend Oreille River Basin.

This section expands the Army Corps of Engineers’ floodplain management services to include support for state efforts to establish and implement integrated floodplain management programs that reduce flood risk and protect and restore floodplain functions. It also changes the authorization of appropriations for these services from an expenditure cap to a standard appropriations authorization and expands eligibility for flood risk resiliency technical assistance to include rural communities.

This section expands the technical assistance the Secretary of the Army may provide to states and non-federal interests for managing water resources. It adds assessments of the structural integrity of water resources development projects and development of integrated floodplain management programs that reduce flood risk and protect and restore floodplain functions.

This section adds the Bayport East Turning Basin and Channel Expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, Texas, to the list of projects authorized for federal maintenance of navigation channels under the Water Resources Development Act of 1996.

This section prohibits thin-layer placement of dredged material from Mobile Harbor except when necessary for emergency use, to prevent draft restrictions, or to create living shorelines or brackish marsh habitats. It also directs the Secretary of the Army to establish a multi-year restoration program, in coordination with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, that uses suitable dredged material to protect, conserve, and restore the Mobile Bay estuary.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite completion of the Mendenhall Glacier outburst flooding technical report authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 and to develop a recommendation for permanent and resilient flood control mitigation for glacial lake outburst floods from Suicide Basin and Lake Mendenhall that affect Juneau, Alaska.

This section directs the Secretary, in evaluating and implementing the water control manual for the Hansen Dam project in the Los Angeles–San Gabriel River Basin and Ballona Creek, California, to coordinate with the City of Los Angeles to identify new or expanded recreational opportunities on lands leased or available for lease by the city; undertake background studies supporting authorized project purposes, including recreation; and ensure water quality parameters meet those purposes.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out repairs and maintenance on breakwaters, revetments, and seawalls at the Morro Bay harbor project so that each activity meets the project's authorized purpose of harbor development.

This section directs the Secretary to coordinate with the city of Oceanside, California, on developing a recommendation for the shoreline protection project that is feasible, maximizes the use of natural and nature-based features, utilizes updated sediment sampling and analysis, and is acceptable to the city.

This section authorizes the Secretary to acquire any interest in real property required for the Pajaro River flood protection project in California in fee simple title at the request of the non-Federal interest. The project was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1966.

This section establishes repayment terms for the Arkansas Valley Conduit to deliver domestic water supplies to communities without reliable access. It sets the nonfederal share at 35 percent of total costs, funded through construction contributions from non-Secretary entities plus repayment of the balance over up to 75 years at 50 percent of the Treasury interest rate, and requires contracting parties to assume all operations, maintenance, and replacement.

This section expands the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program to include design of water resource protection and restoration projects in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It requires the Secretary to consider existing data and analyses and to carry out projects for drought, wildfire, flooding, and natural disaster resiliency mitigation using natural features or nature-based features (as defined in 33 U.S.C. 2289a); fish and wildlife habitat protection; sedimentation and salinity reduction; infrastructure rehabilitation; aquatic invasive species control; and other activities. It increases annual funding to $20 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (from $15 million for fiscal years 2008 through 2029) and requires reports to Congress every five years beginning December 31, 2027, evaluating projects, future plans, and basin needs.

This section directs the Secretary to repay non-Federal interests for the federal share of any advanced funds contributed for the Miami Harbor navigation project in Miami-Dade County, Florida, authorized in 2007. It prohibits requiring a new start determination before providing the repayment.

This section allows the non-Federal interest for the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet ecosystem restoration project in Louisiana to satisfy property rights requirements with easements rather than providing land in fee, where feasible.

This section authorizes the Secretary to operate and maintain, at federal expense, the Pilottown anchorage area on the Mississippi River above Head of Passes, Louisiana, from River Mile 6.7 to Mile 1.5 above Head of Passes.

This section designates the breakwater at Grand Marais Harbor, Michigan, as the Jack Hubbard Memorial Breakwater.

This section requires the Secretary to grant the minimum easements at Sardis Lake in Panola County, Mississippi, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (from an authorization without a deadline).

This section restricts the Federal Emergency Management Agency from using hydraulic evaluation information developed under the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 for any area of the Upper Mississippi River unless the use complies with a congressionally authorized project described in a final report of the Chief of Engineers for a study conducted under section 1227 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024.

This section authorizes the Secretary to carry out flood risk management projects in the Lower Missouri River identified in the System Plan if feasible. It permits compatible environmental improvement and recreation measures if they meet specified feasibility, consistency, and partner-support criteria. It limits federal expenditures to $60,000,000 per project in Missouri, with an exception requiring congressional authorization for larger projects or those within the Lower Missouri Basin study scope. It prohibits projects addressing deferred or incomplete maintenance except when attributable to changed conditions or design standards.

This section requires the chair of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee to be elected by the committee's members. It updates the statutory reference to the Federal Advisory Committee Act to its current codification in title 5, United States Code.

This section authorizes appropriations of $5 million for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030 to the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Commission. The funds support water resources development efforts under the Great Lakes Basin Compact carried out in collaboration with the Secretary.

This section limits the total federal expenditure for any project carried out under the Great Lakes fishery and ecosystem restoration authority to $20,000,000.

This section terminates authorization for the features within Nevada of the flood protection project on the Truckee River and tributaries, California and Nevada, authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1954, effective on the date of enactment of this Act.

This section expands cooperative agreements for flood control projects in New Mexico to include recreational management, visitor use management, public safety, and natural and cultural resources stewardship activities, in addition to operation and maintenance.

This section directs the Secretary to identify any real property associated with the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir project that is not needed for authorized purposes during the dam safety modification study. It authorizes conveyance of such excess property, without consideration, to the Seneca Nation of Indians upon completion of the study, with reversion to the United States if the property is not used for a public purpose.

This section deauthorizes the North Topsail Beach portion of the hurricane and storm damage risk reduction project for Surf City and North Topsail Beach, North Carolina, authorized by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, in accordance with the Supplemental Report of the Chief of Engineers dated December 9, 2025.

This section directs the Secretary to rehabilitate the sluice gates of the Massillon Local Protection Project on the Tuscarawas River in Ohio.

This section applies the standard federal cost-sharing requirements for operation and maintenance of navigation projects to the Toussaint River Federal navigation project in Carroll Township, Ohio.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to conduct a general reevaluation report for the Rio Puerto Nuevo flood control project in San Juan, Puerto Rico, reconsidering natural and nature-based approaches for six specified construction contracts. The report must incorporate updated hydrologic and hydraulic data, local economic and real estate analyses, cost apportionment details including operation and maintenance responsibilities, consultation with federal and Puerto Rico agencies plus community stakeholders, independent external review, and a public participation process with published findings and hearings. The Secretary must submit an interim status report to Congress within one year and expedite completion of the reevaluations.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army to expedite completion of the Buffalo Bayou Tributaries and Resiliency Study, Texas, including associated NEPA reviews and the Chief of Engineers report. It requires the report to recommend a comprehensive project, developed with the Harris County Flood Control District, that analyzes a subterranean tunnel conveyance system capable of handling Hurricane Harvey-level storm volumes while minimizing adverse environmental and community effects and promoting infrastructure resiliency; the report must be submitted to Congress within 2 years of enactment regardless of design maturity, and the study must receive priority federal funding in the first budget submission and work plan after enactment.

This section expands expedited real estate transfer authority for land in Chambers, Galveston, and Harris Counties, Texas, to include portions of Spilman Island and Pelican Island owned by or subject to easements held by the United States, for determining whether any such land or easements are no longer required for project purposes.

This section authorizes the Secretary to use post-enactment water resources development funds or contributions from other federal agency heads to cover the cost of analyzing measures that benefit federal land under another agency's jurisdiction as part of the Coastal Virginia feasibility study for flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and navigation. It requires such analyses to be conducted at federal expense, except that non-federal contributions may be used for measures reducing risk to a military installation.

This section authorizes the Secretary to use water resources development investigation funds or contributions from other Federal agency heads to analyze measures benefiting Federal land as part of the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management feasibility study. It requires such analyses at Federal expense, except that non-Federal contributions may cover costs related to military installation risk reduction upon request of the non-Federal interest.

This section limits total federal expenditures for each critical restoration project in Puget Sound and adjacent waters to $20 million. The limit applies to projects with agreements entered into before enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 if construction remains incomplete.

This section classifies the costs of constructing dredged material stabilization and retaining structures for maintenance dredging on the Lower Willamette and Columbia Rivers navigation project (from Portland, Oregon, to the sea) as eligible operation and maintenance costs assigned to commercial navigation under section 210(a)(2) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986.

This section directs the Secretary to assess the lower Columbia River Basin for opportunities to carry out cost-effective projects supporting salmon and steelhead restoration through aquatic and riparian habitat restoration and reconnection, and through provision of cold water refugia for native anadromous fish.

This section directs the Secretary to treat the removal, relocation, and replacement of four specified causeways and bridges over estuaries and rivers in the Hood Canal, Discovery Bay, and Nooksack Estuary areas as a project feature for the Puget Sound nearshore ecosystem restoration project, with costs shared as construction.

This section directs the Secretary to carry out a second phase of the feasibility study for water supply in the Washington Metropolitan Area, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. The phase focuses on identifying a secondary water source, additional storage, or other long-term backup solutions to reduce the region's structural water supply risk, and requires the Secretary to treat the work as a continuation of the first phase without a new investment decision.

This section authorizes the Secretary to use funds made available for water resources development investigations or contributed by the head of another federal agency to cover any portion of the cost of analyses benefiting federal land under that agency's jurisdiction during the feasibility study for the Federal Triangle Area flood risk management project in Washington, D.C. It requires such analyses to be conducted at federal expense and leaves unchanged any applicable construction cost-sharing requirements for other agencies.

This section authorizes 14 water resources development projects to be carried out by the Secretary. The projects include two navigation improvements in Mississippi and Washington/Oregon with total costs of $548,216,000 and $21,897,000; two flood risk management projects in Kentucky and New York/New Jersey with totals of $12,541,000 and $278,333,000; two ecosystem restoration projects in Missouri and Wyoming with totals of $146,667,000 and $80,934,000; one hurricane and storm damage reduction project in North Carolina with initial costs of $198,613,000 and renourishment costs of $362,304,000; and seven modifications and other projects in Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee with totals ranging from $72,832,000 to $12,321,618,000.

This section directs the Secretary to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, completion of specified projects for emergency streambank erosion and shoreline protection, beach erosion and hurricane damage reduction, flood control, navigation, beneficial use of dredged material, aquatic ecosystem restoration, environmental modification, stormwater management, and channel clearing at 50 listed locations across 20 states and territories.

This section extends the authorization for the National Dam Safety Program through 2031 (from 2026). It increases the number of terms a member of the National Dam Safety Review Board may serve to 7 (from 2). It removes low-head dams from eligibility under two provisions of the dam rehabilitation grant program.

This section directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to complete a study within 2 years of enactment that identifies issues preventing states from prioritizing high hazard potential dam projects with the greatest community benefit under section 8A of the National Dam Safety Program Act and produces recommendations to address them. The Administrator must begin the study on the date of enactment and submit a status report to Congress within 1 year.